TAROT

The Tarot has a fragmented history that intrigues historians,
scholars, hobbyists, and spiritualists alike. Drawing on the concrete
facts that are available, we will attempt to briefly explain the
origins of the Tarot, and trace some of its milestones through the
centuries.

The designs of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana can be traced back as
far as 1440, when the first known deck appeared in Italy. The 3 decks
called the "Visconti Trumps" are generally regarded as the
"forefathers" of the decks that are widely available today. It is
believed that they were originally created as a game for Nobles. It is
not until centuries later that the cards reemerged, this time as a
tool of divination. In the latter half of the 15th century, the card
makers in Marseilles, France began to standardize the Trumps. Before
this organized production, those who played the Trumps could dictate
which they wanted to include, and which they wanted substituted or
eliminated. Certain cards; Death, the Devil, and the Tower in
particular; were considered offensive by the more conservative Nobles.
These images caused religious leaders to attempt to ban the Trumps.

The first detailed reference to the Trumps of the Tarot is in the
form of a sermon. This sermon, given by a Franciscan friar in Italy
sometime between 1450 and 1470, contends that the Trumps were invented
and named by the Devil. It condemns the use of the cards, and
generally credits them with the triumph of the Devil. According to the
friar, the Devil wins through the loss of the souls of those who play
what was then, quite probably, nothing more than a simple game.

The rebirth of the Tarot, and its beginnings a means of divination,
are attributed to Antoine Court de Gébelin in 1781.He believed it was
Egyptian in origin, and that it contained mystical knowledge that had
been purposefully encoded in the symbolism of the Trumps.
Specifically, he theorized that the cards were the key to lost
Egyptian magical wisdom written by Thoth, the Egyptian God of inspired
written knowledge. The Trumps themselves began to noticeably evolve
from this point forward. Changes were thought to have been introduced
by the different secret societies that produced the decks.

The first account of divination through the use of cards is
attributed to cartomancer Jean-Baptiste Alliette, better known as
"Etteilla", in 1770. He was the first to publish divinatory meanings
for cards, and only 32 cards (plus one, representing the querent) were
included in this edition. At this time, only regular playing cards
were mentioned.

Later, Etteilla published several works that involved the Tarot Trumps
specifically. It is no surprise that these later writings coincided
with deGebelin's then-recently-public treatment of the Tarot as a
wellspring of Egyptian occult knowledge. Etteilla must have
anticipated the Tarot's jump in popularity: his was the first deck
available to the public expressly for the purpose of Cartomancy.

The discovery of the Rosetta Stone that translated the hieroglyphs of
the Egyptians in 1799 did not yield any support to the theory that the
Trumps hailed from Egypt. Still, the belief endured and was augmented
in 1857 with the introduction of the notion that the wandering Romany
people - "Gypsies" thought to be descendants of Egyptians - had
carried the deck with them on their travels through Europe.

In the nineteenth century, the famous occultist known as Eliphas Lévi
developed a correlation between the Tarot and the Kabbalah: the Hebrew
system of mysticism. This fueled a new belief that the Tarot
originated in Israel, and contained the wisdom of the Tree of Life.
The new theory brought all 78 cards together as keys to the mysteries,
but again, there were no concrete facts to support it. Nevertheless,
something important was accomplished. The theory would later serve as
proof that the symbolism of the Tarot crossed all boundaries. From
this point forward, many magical and esoteric groups recognized the
Tarot as a timeless body of knowledge that had significance in every
mystical path.

Since that time it has been linked with almost every magical system or
religion known to humankind. The Tarot is comprised of archetypal
images that cross linguistic, cultural, geographical, and temporal
barriers.

The Theosophical Society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the
Rosicrucians, the Church of Light, and the Builders of the Adytum
(B.O.T.A.) all secured the Tarot's position in the 19th and 20th
centuries. In the United States of America, the Tarot became popular
and more readily available in the 1960's, when a period of exploration
in spirituality began.

Arthur Edward Waite is credited with the renaissance of the Tarot in
the Twentieth Century. He commissioned artist Pamela Coleman Smith to
create what he called the "rectified" Tarot. Created by a member of
secret societies also known as a revered mystic, Waite's version has
been widely accepted as the standard, and is by far the most popular
deck of the century, rich in symbolism and easily understood due to
the simple nature of the artwork.

In the opinion of many learned Tarot enthusiasts, the most
significant change the deck has experienced is Smith's treatment of
the Minor Arcana. Hers are the first "pip" cards to contain images
depicting the meaning of the cards. These graphics allow readers to
explain the significance of each cards nuance to querents who, in most
cases, have never encountered the cards before. This artistic trend
can be traced through the majority of the decks produced after the
Rider-Waite (1910), and Smith's influence is readily recognized, as
many of the images echo her drawings.

Today's Tarot card designs reflect specific trends in sexuality,
religion, culture, and philosophy. There are literally hundreds of
interpretations, and more are being conceived as this is being
written. The diversity of the styles allows Tarot Readers to choose a
deck that suits their personalities, the subject of the reading, the
person receiving the reading, or any other variable as they so choose.
Certain decks have a serious tone, some have a dream-like quality, and
others are full of cartoon images. The true beauty lies in the Tarot's
ability to retain its "soul" through each metamorphosis and
incarnation. It is, on many levels, a mirror of those who work with
it, and allows them to make each reading a truly personal experience.

By: Janita/Seatere